FORT WORTH — With a laser focus that has been a hallmark of its success all season, Plano East cleared the last remaining obstacle in its path to San Antonio and the UIL state basketball tournament.
With DJ Hall, a junior on the senior-laden roster, leading the way with a career-high 31 points, the Plano East pulled away late to defeat Keller 76-60 in the Class 6A Region I title game Saturday afternoon at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center.
The 6-6 Hall proved a menace to Keller’s interior defense and finished as the game’s leading rebounder with eight. But he had a lot of help from Jordan Mizell, a 6-2 leaper who made major contributions in the second half.
Plano East (38-0), ranked No. 3 nationally by MaxPreps, kept alive its bid to become the first undefeated champion in the state’s top classification since Duncanville in 2006-07.
Plano East made its only previous state tournament appearance in 1994, losing 50-44 in the state final to Sugar Land Willowridge.
“This is a dream come true to do this on one of the biggest stages,” said Mizell, who backed Hall with 18 points, 14 in the second half. “We’ve stayed focused, not playing any attention to the rankings or the praise — just staying locked in and respecting our opponent.”
Keller (30-6), ranked No. 8 in Texas by MaxPreps, was led by senior Rhett Schank with 18 points and junior Steven Ramirez with 15. Ramirez accounted for 54 combined points in Keller’s previous two playoff wins.
Although Plano East never trailed, Keller whittled a 13-point deficit to five with five minutes remaining, prompting a timeout by Plano East coach Matt Wester. His team responded with a 9-0 run to put the game away.
“We were getting beat to too many loose 50-50 balls,” Wester said. “Once we did a better job of guarding them, we started making the gritty plays and I thought that was the biggest difference in the game.”
Plano East bolted to an 11-0 lead, with Hall accounting for the first eight points, and led by as many as 14 early, but Keller chipped away, connecting on a half-dozen 3-pointers to pull within 37-32 at intermission. Hall, playing on a tender ankle, scored 14 in the first half.
Keller coach Zachary Weir never doubted his team would bounce back from the slow start. “There is no quit in these guys," Weir said. “I couldn’t be prouder of what they have accomplished. They’ve been through a lot."
The experience and familiarity of Plano East’s 11 seniors helped salt the game away with a team specialty — finding the open man.
“These kids have been playing together forever, and [I’m] happy for them beyond words,” Wester said. “We are down to three more practices and two more games.”
Next for the Panthers, a state semifinal against Mansfield Lake Ridge on Friday evening at San Antonio’s Alamodome.
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